Abstract
To alleviate the environmental problems caused by scrap tire and tailings disposal, the performance of recycled tire polymer fiber (RTPF)-reinforced cemented paste backfill (CPB) was investigated. Ordinary CPB, commercial poly-propylene fiber (CPPF) and reinforced CPB were also investigated for comparison. Slump tests, unconfined compression tests and a cost–benefit analysis were conducted. The results indicate that the flowability of the RTPF-reinforced CPB decreased with the increasing fiber content. The failure strain, unconfined compressive strength, and toughness values were generally higher than that of ordinary CPB (i.e., CPB without any fiber reinforcement). However, the mechanical properties would not be improved continuously with increasing RTPF content. It was found that the inclusion of RTPFs achieved the best improvement effect with the best mechanical properties of CPB at the fiber content of 0.6%. The failure mode of the RTPF-reinforced CPB was safer than that of the ordinary CPB. Microscopic observations indicated that the bond between RTPFs and the CPB matrix could affect the mechanical properties of the RTPF-reinforced CPB. From the cost–benefit analysis, the inclusion of RTPFs to reinforce CPB could gain relatively high mechanical properties with a low material cost.
Highlights
The consumption of non-renewable natural materials and energy in the material manufacturing industry is becoming humongous around the world, which may cause huge waste production and environmental pollution
Since the reuse of solid wastes and recycled materials could reduce raw material and energy consumption [8], a general strategy of recycling raw material applications must be developed for preserving raw materials with reduced environmental impact
Due to the much smaller particle size and lower solid content of cemented paste backfill (CPB) compared with concrete, the standard ASTM C 143 might not be suitable for CPB perfectly
Summary
The consumption of non-renewable natural materials and energy in the material manufacturing industry is becoming humongous around the world, which may cause huge waste production and environmental pollution. Worse still, this trend is expected to continue growing due to economic development and population growth. Scrap tire is a common and abundant solid waste that is generated in the transportation industry around the world continually. Since the reuse of solid wastes and recycled materials could reduce raw material and energy consumption [8], a general strategy of recycling raw material applications must be developed for preserving raw materials with reduced environmental impact
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